[Desiree] Oh!
- [Mike] Oh, wow. - I think Noelle would love this.
[narrator] Single mom Desiree wants out
of her three bedroom rental in Toms River, New Jersey,
to buy a house of her own where she'll finally have enough space
for herself and her three children.
[Desiree] What about if that was all living room
and this was the kitchen?
You're taking that kitchen out anyway.
You have winning lottery numbers?
[narrator] She's enlisted the help
of her boyfriend, Mike, who's a carpenter,
but since he knows the cost and headaches
involved in renovation,
he thinks she should go with move-in ready.
It's just... It's very plain.
- I'm not... I'm not... - Look, there's not a wall falling down.
[narrator] But she insists on something historic with character.
[Desiree] This is really amazing.
It just... It has a lack of cabinets.
I don't know how they functioned in here.
[Mike] Newer homes have
bigger kitchens and open concepts.
Huh!
[Desiree] But they don't look lived in. There's no charm.
I want both.
[doorbell chiming]
[opening theme music playing]
We're gonna have French toast, okay?
[River cooing]
Does that sound good?
Yes?
Yeah.
[Desiree] Being a single mom is challenging,
but it's also rewarding at the same time.
I have three children.
A 15-year-old daughter, her name's Noelle.
I have 5-year-old daughter, Violet.
And River, who's one.
Come sit down, honey.
I'm a legal assistant.
I've been saving for a few years now.
This is the first home that I'm purchasing myself,
so I'm currently renting,
and after work, you know, it's very chaotic.
We come home,
the little ones are all over the place,
their toys are all over the living room.
The two little ones have to share their bedroom.
I would love to give my children a nice yard,
a big enough space for them to enjoy themselves.
I don't want them to live on top of each other,
like we have been.
I want them to enjoy their childhood.
Smells good.
Mike is a friend of over 25 years.
We went to high school together.
We reconnected awhile back.
- I forgot the sausage. - [River yelps]
[Mike] No meat?
[Desiree chuckling] No meat.
Sorry.
- I'm leaving. - [chuckles]
Mike is a ballbuster.
He has teased me since I was 14 years old.
It's nothing new. I'm used to it.
We have really playful banter.
[Violet] I want some in my mouth like that!
[chuckles]
[giggles]
Do you want some? Open your mouth.
[all chuckling]
Mike is a carpenter for a living,
so his knowledge and expertise will really help me
feel confident in buying a home.
I know what I like, but I'm a dreamer.
I like to base my decisions off of feelings,
and Mike is logical, so he keeps me grounded.
So, you're set on a historic house.
[Desiree] I would prefer a historic house.
[River coos]
What's the benefit to that?
I want something that has the original hardwood floors.
Something with character.
I need something that feels lived-in.
Well, if you're talking about,
you know, downtown Toms River,
and you're talking about that area,
chances are is that there are hardwood, you know...
- Yeah. - under God knows how many layers
of linoleum, and carpet...
Well, that's where you come in.
[chuckles sarcastically]
[Mike] I work six days a week already.
You have me for, maybe, a singular project.
The other aspect of getting
a historic home, and an older home,
is that it is a constant upkeep.
What are you looking at in range of price?
I can go up to $350,000
if I don't have to put any money into it,
but I would like to stay at $300,000.
[Mike] Okay, so what are the priorities, then?
A must is they have to have their own room.
Her toys wouldn't be all over the living room
if she had her own room.
- [Mike] Mmm-hmm. - But I'm not going to give up on some of the things I want,
like, I would love a main bath.
[Mike] Two-bath would be paramount.
You gotta get out of where you're at.
The house is definitely too small.
But I'm not going to jump into something else
just to leave.
I need to love it.
Okay.
Do you want me to be like the GPS, where I give you,
like, little warnings? "You're approaching..."
- No, uh... - [both chuckle]
I think, if you were the GPS...
-"...in a quarter mile..." - "Recalculating. Recalculating."
- [laughs] - Constantly. "Recalculating."
[narrator] First up is a 1960s ranch.
Not the historical charmer she wants,
but it has four bedrooms and minimal projects.
I love the black shutters.
- [Mike] You like the black. - [Desiree] I do.
And I love the black door.
- It's nice. - And is this real cedar?
[Mike] It's not.
- Are you sure? - [Mike] I'm positive.
- What's up, Lise? - [Lisa] Hi, guys!
- [Desiree] Hi. - [Lisa] What are you talking about?
[Desiree] The siding. It looks like real cedar, doesn't it?
[Mike] Well, that's the intended purpose.
It's nice, though.
- [Desiree] It's very nice. - It's a very nice house.
Desiree does desire an older home.
This would be a perfect house for Desiree,
because it would be
the less-maintenance way to go.
It is fully updated,
and being a single mom myself,
looking for a home for my family,
I would always look for a home
that I didn't have to do too much work to.
Oh!
Well, this is nice.
[Desiree] Hardwood.
[Lisa] Your hardwood floors, that you love.
[Desiree] Very nice.
It's really bright,
and there's a lot of space in here,
but it's lacking character.
Well, you could add character by doing a chair rail.
[Desiree] Right, but it wouldn't be original.
It would be fake.
[chuckles]
[Mike] That's nice.
Okay. Don't love it.
Everything is very sterile in here.
- What if you changed the backsplash? - Okay...
- Or not even the backsplash. - No, I like the subway tile.
You could change the upper cabinets,
and put color in the upper cabinets,
- and have the cabinets go to the ceiling. - And, like, this.
-What is this? Is this gloss? -This is relaminating.
- What is this? - It's relaminated.
[Desiree] I mean, they look like they're wet.
[chuckling] They do look like they're wet.
[Desiree] They look like they're wet.
And
these two doors are upside down.
Are they really?
[chuckling] Oh, my God, they are!
Look at that,
- with the arch on the bottom. - [Lisa] Wow.
[Desiree sighing] Oh, it's funny.
It's very narrow.
Would you open that wall?
[sighs] Yeah, because I would want to be able
to see the kids from the kitchen.
[Lisa] So, here is your main bath.
[Desiree] Okay.
[Lisa] It's also gray.
This house has three bedrooms upstairs.
[Desiree] I really like this room.
This would be good for Noelle.
Is this the bigger of the three?
[Lisa] This is the bigger of the three.
Would this be the main?
[Lisa] This would be one of the main rooms,
but there is another room downstairs
- that we're gonna go take a look at. - [Desiree] Okay.
I like the double windows over here.
It's just...
It's very plain.
- You know? - [Lisa] It's not "Desiree."
No.
- I'm not... I'm not... - And there's not a wall falling down.
She wants problems.
I don't want problems.
- She wants problems. - I just... I want charm.
Desiree has not had an easy life,
you know, being a single mom,
she's, you know, got three kids.
I've tried to implore her to look at newer homes,
things that don't need as much maintenance,
but, you know, her big thing is always character.
This could be another bedroom.
It's a really nice-sized bedroom,
- but there aren't any windows. - Right.
-That's... That's a little inconvenient. -It is a basement.
I bet you Noelle would want to be here.
- Noelle would, probably. - Yeah.
- She would love the pit. - She would probably love that there's no windows.
-No windows. No room-darkening shades. -Yeah.
Just a pit.
Yeah. She would love that.
- Yep. - Okay.
So, you have another living space here,
- with a built-in bar. - [Desiree] Okay. That's fun.
[chuckles]
World's shortest bartender.
[both laugh]
What can I get you?
Why are you so low?
It's not me. It's the bar that's too tall.
[Lisa] You have your own private bathroom down here.
This bathroom's huge.
I like the downstairs
[chuckling] better than the upstairs.
- I would spend most of my... - You would never leave, down here.
I would spend most of my time down here.
But I would... Could you add a window
- to that other bedroom down here? - [Mike] Yeah.
[Lisa] Sure, and make this your own space,
'cause you wanted your space.
- Keep the whole downstairs. - Yeah.
- [Desiree chuckles] - [Mike] Desiree's pub.
- [Lisa and Mike chuckle] - This would be fun, though.
But this is cool.
[Lisa] So what do you think of this? It's all fenced in.
[Desiree] This is nice. It's big.
I could let the kids out in the backyard
while I'm in the kitchen,
and I wouldn't even have to worry.
[Lisa] Easy maintenance.
[Desiree] Yeah.
I do love the backyard.
I do love the basement.
Making it, pretty much, my whole level would be great.
The kitchen definitely was disappointing.
I think I would absolutely have to open this up somehow.
The price is a little high.
It's in a good neighborhood. You have a huge backyard.
And you could do all these things piecemeal,
here and there.
It has a lack of charm.
It's just a lot higher than I wanted to end up,
for something I don't walk in and absolutely love.
[narrator] Since older charm is so important to Desiree,
next up is the ultimate vintage charmer.
[Desiree] I love the porch.
Oh, look.
Is that the doorbell?
- [rings bell] - That's the doorbell.
- [Desiree and Mike chuckle] - [Desiree] That's really cool!
- Oh, we should see if the antique store's open. - No, we shouldn't.
- Yeah, we should. - No.
Let's look in the window.
- [Mike] No, it's... - Shh.
Let's look in the window.
[narrator] Desiree loves everything vintage,
so now she's finally getting to see what she really wants,
a 100-year old charmer.
[Mike] It's a colonial?
Yeah.
What year?
1920s, it says.
- 1920s. - Okay. [chuckles]
[chuckling] You're gonna love it, aren't you?
Oh, yeah, I'm gonna love it.
[Lisa] Hey, guys!
[Mike] What's up, Lise?
- [Desiree] Hi. - How are you?
[Desiree] I love the porch.
I don't love the blue, though.
Why not? It's so beachy.
[Desiree] It's not my favorite.
[Mike] I like it.
[Desiree] You would.
"You would." [chuckles]
- But that breeze is nice, too. - [Desiree] It's really nice.
Yeah.
Oh, look.
Is that the doorbell?
- [rings bell] - That's the doorbell.
- [Desiree and Mike chuckle] - [Desiree] That's really cool!
It does need a lot of work,
a lot of upgrading.
However, there were some major upgrades
along the way.
A new roof, electrical, plumbing has been upgraded,
so that's a plus.
However, it only has three bedrooms
and one and a half baths.
This house...
Oh, wow!
[Lisa] You're going to find this one
a little more spacious.
[Desiree] It's big.
Nice set of stairs.
[Lisa] Really nice.
- It's nice wood. - I wonder if these are coming in or out?
[Mike] Well, they're in, now.
Possession is nine-tenths? [chuckles]
[Lisa] I'll find out.
[Desiree] It's bright.
It feels welcoming.
- This living room... - [Mike] It's a big living room.
[Desiree] ...it's huge.
You can fit your entire first floor
- in the living room. - I know I could.
I think I need a bigger couch.
- [chuckling] I think you need three bigger couches. - Hey, it's gonna...
[Lisa] There are so many original elements
in this house that you have to really look at.
Look at all the detail,
and the wood.
You got a stained glass window up there.
[Desiree] Ooh!
The floors are great.
Are the floors original?
They have to be.
Hard pine floors?
[Desiree] They need to be redone, though.
Look at them.
Yeah, but this could sand and finish really nice.
I wasn't expecting it to be this open...
- Right. - For an older home.
[Mike] I mean, it's even a big dining room.
[Desiree] It is.
[Mike] They're all-new vinyl windows.
That's a plus.
I'm assuming that's the kitchen.
[Lisa] The kitchen has a lot of original elements.
There's a built-in pantry here.
This is where I think
your refrigerator might have been.
[Desiree] Okay.
Then, you have this hutch that's original.
[Desiree] Oh, that's beautiful!
This is really amazing.
[Mike] This sink, obviously.
[Lisa] This sink is an original...
[Desiree] Wow.
[Lisa] ...and so, it has the old elements
- of what you're looking for? - It does.
It just... It has a lack of cabinets,
so I feel like there's really not much to the kitchen.
Like, I want it to be open.
[Lisa] This is an older home, and with older homes,
they're not as upgraded, and you're gonna have to take
the good with the bad.
I don't know how they functioned in here.
I need to be able to see the kids,
and hear the kids, when I'm cooking.
[Mike] Newer homes have bigger kitchens
- and open concepts. - Huh!
But they don't look lived-in. There's no charm.
- I want, I want... - [Mike] Well, this certainly looks lived-in,
-for a hundred years. -[Desiree] I want both. [chuckling] I want both.
- [Mike mutters] - I want both.
[Mike] Okay.
[Lisa] So, we have three bedrooms upstairs.
To the right is the primary bedroom.
-Very spacious. - [Desiree] Oh, my God. It's huge!
[Lisa] Large closets.
[Desiree] It's very bright in here too, just like downstairs.
[Lisa] Yes, and you do have new windows, also.
This is a big room.
- This is really... - How many bedrooms did you say it was?
This one has three. I know she's looking for four.
But, you have an ability to possibly split this.
There's your fourth.
[Desiree] You think we'd have the space?
- It wouldn't make it feel too tiny? - [Mike] I think if that part
of the room was yours, and you split this room
between the closet and the entry...
[Desiree] Hmm.
I don't see why that
- couldn't be a little child's room. - [Lisa] Mmm-hmm.
[Desiree] How much would that cost?
Maybe $1,500.
Okay.
There's no main bath here, right?
No main bath?
[Lisa] There is one bathroom upstairs.
This does not have its own bathroom.
That's a big downside,
'cause that was, you know,
one of the things that I really wanted.
[Lisa] You have the possibility to make
a main bath, down the road.
Would there be room to do that?
There's always room.
It depends on how much money
you want to throw at something.
It's a labor of love, old houses.
[Lisa] This leads to the outside.
Look at the size of this yard!
- There is so much room for the kids to play back here. - [Lisa] Huge yard.
[Mike] It is a decent-sized backyard.
- [Lisa] This is very large. - [Desiree] It's huge.
I love that it's built in the 1920s.
It's exactly what I was looking for.
It has so much history,
but offers, you know,
open floor plan downstairs, which is not something
you normally find in an older home.
There's only three beds.
I really did want four.
And there's only one and a half baths.
I don't want this wall here.
I need to be able to see the kids,
for when I'm in the kitchen.
I think that the sellers are motivated with this house,
- so we'll work on that. - [Desiree] That's a plus.
[Lisa] That's a plus.
That would definitely free up some funds
to do the things that you would want to have done,
but with historic houses,
it's a lot of work,
and whether or not you're willing to do it
is solely up to you.
[narrator] So, Lisa's found a place
that's newer, and more affordable,
and with spacious bedrooms for the kids.
[Desiree] I think this would work for the kids.
Well, there's three bedrooms, so each kid would get
- their own bedroom... - Mmm-hmm.
- which is... - Which is exactly what I was looking for.
- One of the boxes. - Which is the goal.
[narrator] Desiree is now seeing a house
on the lower end of what she's willing to spend.
[Desiree] I like the siding.
- [Mike] The cedar impressions? - Yeah.
- [Mike] What's up, Lise? - Hey, guys!
- [Desiree] Hey! - Come on in.
-It's busy. It's busy out here. -It's a very busy street,
but this house has the features
you were looking for.
It has four bedrooms, it has two baths,
and it is in your price range.
Needs a little TLC, but that's why we bring Mike.
I like the floors. What is this?
- It looks like wood. - That's that wood look tile.
[Desiree] Like ceramic tile?
- [Lisa] It's tile or wood? - [Mike] Yes.
No, it's tile.
I like it.
The floor?
[Desiree] Yeah. I like the floors. I like the color.
The bay window's really nice.
It's a little tight in here, though.
I don't know where I would put my furniture, or the TV.
I like the '70s mirror.
[Desiree] The mirror's not bad.
So, it appears you have an area
for an eating area over here.
[Desiree] Okay.
[Mike] I mean, it's big.
[Desiree] Yeah, there's a lot of counter space
- on this side, especially. - [Mike] Yeah.
[Desiree] Do you think you could take this wall out
to make the living room larger?
[Mike] You could, but you would have to transplant
those two to an opposite wall.
Maybe over there.
The price point is okay.
[Desiree] Okay.
There is a porch down below.
This could be either a play room,
dining room, family room.
Here's a thought.
What's your thought?
What about if that was all living room,
and this was the kitchen?
That would be a huge living room.
- [Mike] It would be. - [Desiree] Could that work?
- [Lisa] That's a big expense. - [Mike chuckling] Yeah.
But if you're taking that kitchen out anyway...
You have winning lottery numbers?
If you're taking that kitchen out...
You got a tip on the ponies?
Why can't you put the cabinets here?
With deep enough pockets, you can do anything.
So, step outside, guys.
It's not as noisy in the back as it is in the front.
[Desiree] The yard's a decent size.
[Lisa] Okay.
Okay, so this way, this is
a shared bathroom,
or it could be your primary bathroom.
[Desiree] This seems very unusual here.
It seems unusual?
- It is very unusual. - Yeah.
[Desiree] I feel like, um...
- I feel like there's... - this would have to be completely redone.
[Mike] Mmm-hmm.
[Lisa] And then, when we step up,
- this would be the primary. - [Mike sighs]
[Desiree] Okay.
[Lisa] It's got nice, high ceilings.
The size is great.
It just...
There's not really much character here.
- The bedrooms are down here? - [Lisa] Bedrooms are down here.
There's three bedrooms, and a full bath.
- [Desiree] Oh! - [Lisa] So what do you think of this size room?
This is a really good-sized room.
[Mike] You're all the way on the other side.
I do like that, though.
I think that's a plus, to be separate.
The kids are playing,
I don't, you know, don't hear them.
Right.
I think this would work for the kids.
[Mike] Well, there's three bedrooms,
so each kid would get their own bedroom,
- which is... - Which is exactly what I was looking for.
- One of the boxes. - Which is the goal.
- Yeah. - Yeah.
Yeah.
[Desiree] I think it has potential.
I think doing something with the kitchen,
opening it up to the living room,
to get that open concept
would be ideal.
That would be the first thing that I would want to do.
It has four bedrooms,
which is exactly what I've been looking for,
and it has two full baths.
[Lisa] It doesn't have the charm that you like.
[Desiree] Yes, the old home charm.
You could make it what you want.
It's just how long are you willing to live
in a renovation with three kids?
Did you give yourself a timeline as to when,
you know, what your deadline is
to tell Lisa which house you chose?
I would say, you know, by some time tomorrow
I'd like to be able to tell her.
[narrator] To get the space Desiree and her kids need,
she's got to decide whether character, price,
or doing projects takes precedent.
The updated ranch with the finished basement
makes the most sense.
It's move-in ready.
The backyard was a definite plus,
and having that extra, like, bonus
- bar in the basement, that was fun. - [Mike] The bonus bar!
- The bonus bar! - Hey, that's what you could name it!
[chuckling] "The Bonus Bar." That was fun.
It's just, every single room
of that whole house...
Was that same color.
Was that same color,
and there was also the situation with the kitchen
that I didn't love, and I'm not sure,
even with opening up that wall,
if it's gonna give me the space that I really need.
- The historic home in downtown Toms River... - Mmm-hmm.
[Desiree] ...it had the original hardwood throughout,
but it only had three bedrooms.
You know, even though I am against
you being sold on, you know, an older home...
Mmm-hmm.
Putting a partition wall, and creating two out of one
would be a relatively cheap and easy, you know, fix.
[Desiree] But it didn't have two full baths.
No.
You still wouldn't have a kitchen.
But I'd have room to have a kitchen.
Even though the fixer-upper needs work,
it still had more charm
than the updated ranch.
I still believe, though, that that kitchen
could be brought into that lower sunroom area,
and I think that if you
opened up that kitchen, and made that all living room,
it would look like a different house inside
when you walked in.
- [Mike] Well... - And being that it's priced so low,
I would have the budget to do that.
[Mike] Yeah.
Life decisions are fun.
[doorbell chiming]
[Desiree] Can you, um, put my doors in?
- [Mike] Can I? - [Desiree] Yeah, right now.
I chose the historic home in downtown Toms River.
I really liked the character, the history,
the open floor plan.
It was very bright and inviting,
and it just...
I could see myself living here
for a long time with my kids.
I'm so glad you're putting that up.
Can you hand me one of those pins?
[Desiree] The list price was $330,000.
I ended up getting the home for $290,000,
because it was the seller's childhood home,
and they didn't want it to go to an investor.
It looks good.
I mean, it doesn't latch, but...
[Mike chuckling] Yeah!
[both laugh]
Going into this home, if I didn't have Mike
to advise me on what it needed,
I wouldn't have felt as confident.
I feel a little bit calmer going into this home,
with all the projects.
The kitchen, that's gonna be within the budget,
now that I was able to get the home for so much less.
Does it really not latch?
[chuckling] No, I don't know. It was, like, tricky.
-[Mike] It does. You just gotta push it. -[Desiree] All right.
So far, I've spent about $10,000 in renovations.
Every level of hardwood floors have been refinished.
We ended up painting every room,
and Mike put up a wall in the main bedroom
to make this three-bedroom into four.
The main bathroom was really a disappointment,
that I wasn't able to get one in this house,
so down the road,
we're going to take out a closet,
and turn that into the main bath.
- I kind of like that. - They're cool.
You have a nice texture.
And then, you don't have to paint that wall, either.
I picture life being really peaceful here.
My children have their own space.
I see everybody
just really being content, and settled in.
At least the door looks good.
[Mike] Of course it does.
A true craftsman did it.
[Desiree] A master carpenter.
[both chuckle]